Supercritical technology as an alternative for biotechnological xylitol purification

Author:

dos Santos, DTSotelo, AFSarrouh, BFSalaue, LMPalacios, NRSilva, SS

Abstract:

Biotechnological processes have been developed and applied successfully to obtain new products. Among these, one in development is the use of microorganisms that ferment xylose from the hemicellulosic fraction of agroindustrial waste to xylitol, a functional food with important industrial applications. Among the agroindustrial waste the sugarcane bagasse is the most abundant lignocellulosic residue in Brazil, and this has not been exploited to its full potential due to ignorance or lack of readily available technology to be applied, or have been used in a less valued. In this context the biotechnology emerges as an alternative route for generation of high-value added products aimed use this waste suitably. Basically the biotechnological processes can be divided in two stages: the stage of the process itself and the purification stage. As the separation, purification and recovery stages are an important part of the biotechnology process, which can reach up to 80% of the final cost of the product, this study therefore aimed the recovery and purification through the use of an alternative technology, not yet applied for this aim, the supercritical technology. The bioprocess was carried out in a fluidized reactor with cells of Candida guilliermondii immobilized in calcium alginate effectively and the purification process was tested in a supercritical extractor with a capacity of 50ml using CO(2) + ethanol as solvent. It was evaluated the influence of the parameters: pressure and support in the purification process, using a 22 full factorial design keeping the temperature and residence time of solvent with the liquid matrix constant. The preliminary results showed the potentiality of use supercritical technology as an alternative for biotechnological xylitol purification produced from sugarcane bagasse.